Undergraduate Programs

Major Study Requirements

1.	Introductory course (AMST 180, 182, 183, 184, 185 or 186)	3
2.	AMST 285 American Life and Thought	3
3.	AMST 385 Theories & Methods in American Studies	3
4.	Interdepartmental Studies of American culture: after consultation with American Studies undergraduate advisor choose 15 hours of courses from at least two of the six areas listed below. Six hours of this course work must be from courses numbered 300 and above. Of the 15 hours required in this section and the 9 hours required in section 5.a below, 18 must be in American Studies.
	American Studies
	History
	Literature (English, Foreign Languages and Literatures)
	Political, economic and geographical studies
	Social and Cultural Systems (Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology)
	Arts, Humanities and Communications (Philosophy, Linguistics, Fine Arts, Communication & Journalism, Comparative Literature)
	Natural History (Biology, Earth and Planetary Studies, Chemistry)
5.	Senior Program: after consultation with faculty advisor, choose 12 hours in courses numbered 300 and above.
	a. 9 interdepartmental hours in courses centering around a particular topic or problem in American culture. Of the 9 hours required in 4 above (a total of 24), 18 must be in American Studies.	9
	b. American Studies Seminar and Thesis (485)	3
	Total Hours	36

A minor (18–26 hours in another department) is required.

Minor Study Requirements

Undergraduate students majoring in the departments of Anthropology, Art History and Criticism, Economics, English, History, Philosophy, Political Science or Sociology may elect a minor in American Studies. Students in other majors need special approval of both their major advisor and the American Studies office.

The minor in American Studies is designed to introduce students to the interdisciplinary study of the culture of the United States. The requirement is 24 hours, including 18 hours in American Studies: 3 hours from 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, or 186; 285, 385 and 9 hours at the 300 level. Students take the remaining 6 hours in an integrated program chosen from other departments (Anthropology, Art History, Economics, English, Geography, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology or Sociology) or American Studies courses. All of these 6 hours must be from courses at the 300 level or above. With proper selection of courses a student may elect a minor in American Studies with an emphasis in African American, Chicano, Native American or Women Studies. A student may choose to focus his or her minor program on other important themes in American culture, such as the popular arts or ecology in America, or may emphasize the interdisciplinary study of a region or the nation as a whole. All students should consult with their major advisor and the American Studies undergraduate advisor as early as possible to obtain approval of their minor program.

Major or Minor: Southwest Concentration

The wealth of courses in various departments and colleges at the University of New Mexico dealing with the American Southwest and the Mexican Borderlands supports this concentration. Recognizing the unique contributions of Southwest regional cultural development to the larger United States, the American Studies concentration in Southwest Cultural Studies provides undergraduates and graduates with an interdisciplinary program that is both structured and flexible.

Major Concentration in Southwest Culture Studies includes:

American Studies 186: Introduction to Southwest Studies (3); American Studies 285: American Life and Thought (3) Courses designed to provide an introduction to interdisciplinary methods and a context for Southwest Studies.
Fifteen Hours of Interdisciplinary Studies of Southwest Culture: In consultation with the American Studies undergraduate advisor, the student structures a coherent program of four related courses selected from five general areas: History and Literature, Social and Cultural Systems, Political and Economic Studies, Arts and Humanities and Natural History. The major portion of this course work should center on a particular historical focus (Spanish Colonial, U.S. Territorial, Contemporary Southwest, etc.), ethnic or cultural experience (Chicano Experience, Southwest Native Americans) or specific geographical or environmental cases. Students are encouraged to develop a broad comparative analysis (for example, a U.S. national cultural context or a Latin American context) or an extended chronological emphasis, not simply a concentration on a single narrow topic.
American Studies 385: Theories & Methods in American Studies (3)
Senior Program: After consultation with the American Studies undergraduate advisor, choose from courses numbered 300 and above:
a. 9 interdepartmental hours in courses centered around a specific topic or problem in Southwest Cultural Studies. The theme of this final course work generally emerges from the previous broad sampling (section 2 above). Six hours should be in American Studies.
b. American Studies 486: Senior Seminar in Southwest Studies (3): a course in which the interdisciplinary implications of each student’s major topic are explored.

Minor in Southwest Culture Studies

This minor is designed to introduce students to the interdisciplinary study of the culture of the Southwest. The requirement is 24 hours, including 18 hours in American Studies: 186, 285, 385, and 9 additional hours at the 300 level. Students take the remaining 6 hours in an integrated program chosen from other departments (Anthropology, Art History, Economics, English, Geography, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology or Sociology) or American Studies courses. All of these 6 hours must be from courses at the 300 level or above. Within the concentration, students may study the broad issue of Southwest Culture or focus on a specific area such as Native American Studies, Chicano Studies, or cultural ecology. Hours requirements are identical with the minor specified above with the exception that the student must take American Studies 186, Introduction to Southwest Studies, as part of the 18 hours of required American Studies courses.

Departmental Honors

Students seeking departmental honors should apply to the American Studies undergraduate advisor in their junior year. In addition to maintaining a 3.20 overall grade point average, Honors candidates must also successfully complete 3 credit hours of Senior Honors Thesis (499) and the American Studies Senior Seminar in U.S. Culture (485) in their senior year.

Courses in American Studies (AMST) are categorized in areas of interest. The category for each course appears in parenthesis at the end of the course description according to the following legend:

General (G); Cultural Studies (C); Environment, Science, Technology (EST); Gender Studies (GS); Popular Culture (PC); Race, Class and Ethnicity (RCE); and Southwest Studies (SS).

Keys and Symbols Reference